Review: W-H-I-T-E – Twin Tigers

Following on from That Ghost’s DIY version of dreampop, comes W-H-I-T-E’s new 12″, ‘Twin Tigers’. The brainchild of Cory Thomas Hanson, the artist intriguingly promises us “wet soundscapes” amongst other delights.

‘Fountain’ is definitely a mesmerising start. Here the baroque keyboard flourishes dovetail with Hanson’s queasily endearing voice. Then the title track uses a repeated guitar and drum riffs with Hanson doing his best to sound like a demented choirboy.’See The Blood’ is simply exquisite as a dreamy acoustic melody is accompanied by grand keyboards and intense percussion.

After this fabulous opening triptych, the album’s fine moments become less frequent and by the time of the jungle noise-inspired japery of ‘Mondo Magic’, there’s a sense that Hanson is beginning to run out of hooks. Furthermore, his voice seems to become even more sickly; an impression exacerbated by the shrill sounds of album closer ‘Catacomb Your Hair’.

The overall effect is a bit like a trip on the merry go round; exciting and thrilling at first but when the novelty wears off, you feel disorientated and want the journey to end. This could therefore be seen as a missed opportunity for Hanson but if he can maintain his initial fine form for the duration of an album, he could be on to something special.